Friday, April 27, 2007
SPECIAL DAY
The Age’s Michael Leunig celebrates Anzac Day:
I knew a Turkish man who owned a coffee shop around the corner from where I used to live.
Ten Anzac Days ago I went to his shop for a morning coffee to be greeted by his wicked smile and twinkling eyes. “Good morning Michael,” he said, “Happy Anzac Day. This is the special day,” he declared with mock formality, “to remember that all invading armies must be thrown back into the sea.”
I have to say, it was not such a bad way to start the morning.
The ghosts of all Australians killed at Gallipoli salute you, Leunig. Following are his further points summarised:
• “Stupid, boring” Australians should be more like Muslims than Americans;
• The lyrics of a Christian hymn seem “to be more about a rampaging gang of morons than a wandering prophet who espoused radical love”;
• Leunig has authority issues relating to his childhood 50 years ago;
• Innocent frogs die in the name of terrorism;
• US movies are scary;
• A simulated bombing attack witnessed “many years ago” results in lasting problems: “I beheld as never before, a vision of massive modern hatred - spreading, surging and bulging red out of black, engulfing the land and sky and all imagination in a monstrous wave of hellish human savagery”;
• Kurt Vonnegut helps Leunig understand Australia;
• Wealthy Leunig believes childen should not be “aspirational”;
• Anzac Day is crap unless you spend it with someone who is glad Australians were killed ... and who then moved to Australia.